Attachment for golf clubs



Aug 30, 1950 C. Q. CADMAN 2,950,919

ATTACHMENT FOR GOLF CLUBS Filed Jan. 30, 1958 ATTORNEYS ATTACHMENT FORGOLF `CLUlBS Coin Q. Cadman, 418 W. 12th St., Silver City, N. Mex.

Filed Jan. 30, 1958, Ser. No. 712,158

7 Claims. (Cl. 273-171) This invention relates to improvements inattachments for golf clubs, and more particularly to attachments of thetype designed to add weight to the head of golf clubs, commonly referredto as woods, to facilitate use of the same in the taking of practicestrokes.

Proficiency in the game of golf is attained by constant practice. Thisis particularly true of the swing, which must be practiced to developthe proper follow-through and until the swing has become grooved. Inpracticing the swing, it has been found that proper follow-through maybe more quickly and easily developed if the weight of the club head isincreased beyond that normally used in playing the game. Various deviceshave been resorted to for accomplishing this purpose. Most frequentlysuch devices have been incorporated as a part of the club head proper,thus restricting the use of the club entirely to practice swings andrendering it totally unsuitable for the ordinary playing of the game. Inother cases, the devices have been designed to be removably attached tothe usual playing club but have been subject to various disadvantages asa result of which they have not proven entirely satisfactory for thispurpose.

In my prior Patent No. 2,715,026, issued August 9, 1955, i describe anattachment for adding weight to golf clubs, whi h has been found to be asignificant advance over comparable devices of the prior art. The deviceof my aforesaid patent utilizes a body member which overlies and isshaped to lit the upper contours of a club 'i The body member hasdepending flanges at which are shaped to engage the toe surface of theclub head and has an upstanding flange at the opposite extremity whichreceives the threaded end of a hook bolt arranged to embrace the shankof the club. By adjusting the position of a nut on the bolt thedepending flanges and the hook may be drawn tightly against the opposingsurfaces of the club head. The device is also provided with anupstanding threaded stud which receives and holds removable weights.

The device of the present invention represents an improvement upon thedevice of the aforesaid prior patent. While the latter device requirestwo threaded fastenings, the present invention utilizes but one, thesame threaded stud being employed to tix the attachment firmly in placeon the club head and to permit the changing of weights. The presentdevice does not require a separate hook bolt but instead utilizes aplate member having an integral hooked portion. A concomitant advantageof the construction of the present invention is improved appearance andgreater eye appeal.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide animproved weighting attachment for golf clubs of the type commonlyreferred to as woods, whichV can be more easily and more quicklyattached to or removed from the heads of such clubs and used withoutmutilating or otherwise marring the finish thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an attachment whichis somewhat simpler in that it i11- 2,950,919 Patented Aug. so, 1960cludes but a single fastening device and thus has fewer small and easilylost parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the aforesaidtype which does not obstruct the-normal view of the club head and yetmay be secured firmly to the club head even after long use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of theaforesaid type which will readily accommodate a wide range of clubshapes and sizes.

These and other objects of the invention and the exact manner in whichsuch objects are accomplished will become more readily apparent uponconsideration of the following detailed description of the inventiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan View of the invention shown attached to the head of awood type club;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 2 2 of Figurel;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figurel; and

Figure 4 is a plan view of a plate member which forms an important partof the attachment of the invention.

Briefly stated, the device of the invention comprises a first platemember that is shaped to overlie and conform to the upper curvature of aclub head of the wood type and which has a rear portion twisted into ahooklike configuration which is adapted to embrace the shank of theclub. A second plate member overlies the first and has at least onedepending flange arranged to engage the toe surface of the club head.This plate member has a slot through which passes an upstanding studattached to the first plate member. By this arrangement the members maybe adjusted relatively along the toe-to-shank axis of the club head topermit installation of the attachment. For facilitating such movement,the upper plate member is provided with an upwardly extending ange whichserves as a finger grip. Removable weights having holes therethrough maybe placed on the stud, and the stud is threaded to receive a wing nutwhich clamps the plate members together and holds the weights in place.

Referring to the drawing, reference numeral 19 designates generally theattachment of the invention, which in Figures l through 3 is shownapplied to the head of a conventional wood club l2. The upper surface 14of the club head is convexly curved in the usual manner, and the lowersurface of the club head is provided with a conventional partial soleplate 16 (Figure 3) which may be of metal. rlhe striking face of theclub head may be provided with the usual insert 13 which is usually madeof horn or a suitable plastic material. The convexly curved toe surface2@ of the club merges into the similarly curved rear surface 22 whichextends to the hosel or shank end 24. The club head proper may be formedof wood or equivalent material and is provided with a conventional shaft(not shown) of steel or wood which has a suitable hand grip portion atits upper end.

The attachment of the invention comprises a iirst plate member 26 formedof a relatively stiff sheet material, such as metal, and shaped tooverlie and conform to the contours of the upper surface le of the clubhead. The plate member is substantially less in width than the ciub headso as not to obstruct or obscure the general contour of the head asviewed from above. One extremity of the plate member is twisted andcurved to form a hook 23 which is adapted to embrace releasably theshank or hosel of the club as shown in Figures l and 2Q The undersurface of the plate member including its hook-like portion ispreferably provided with a liner (not shown) of suede, felt, rubber,plastic, or similar material to prevent marringof the club headsurfaces. Extending from the upper surface of the plate member is a stud30, which may be welded or otherwise attached to the plate member.

Overlyingfthe first plate member is a second plate member 32, which mayhave approximately thesame widthas the first plate member but whichterminates before the hook 28, preferably in an upturned integral tingergrip 34. The opposite extremity of the second plate member is providedwith a depending ilange or leg 36 which is curved (preferably bothvertically and horizontally) to conform to the contours of the .toesurface of the club head. The second plate member preferably also hasanother depending leg or ilange 38 curved in the same manner to conformto the contours of that portion of the club head approximately at whichthe toe surface 20 and the rear surface 22 merge. Flanges 36 and 3S mayalso be` lined as described in connection with the first plate member.

Plate member 32 is provided with a slot 40 (see Figure`4) whichextendsalong the to-to-shank axis (that is, the axis along line 2 2 of Figurel). The stud 30 of;plate member 26 extends through the slot, and the twoplate members `are thereby coupled for releative movement along theforegoing axis. In the -form shown, the secondplate member is bowedupwardly in the region around the stud 30 so that it is spaced away fromthe first plate member, and the material from which the second platemember is formed, for example a suitable sheet metal, is preferablyresiliently compressible.

-A plurality of removable weights 42 having holes 44 therethrough areadapted to be placed over the second plate member with the stud 30passing through the holes 44. These weights may be in the form of curvedplates and in the form shown are of slightly smaller dimensions than thesecond plate member. If the Weights are formed with the same upwardlybowed curvature, as shown, they may be readily nested upon the secondplate member.

The upper extremity of the stud 30 is threaded at 46 to receive thereona wing nut 48. The wing nut and threadedstud serve to retain the weightson the plate members and atthe same time serve to tix the plate memberstogether, as will be described, so as to retain the attachment asa'whole on the club.

To apply the attachment of the invention to a conventional wood club, itis simply -necessary to loosen the wing nut 4S so as to permit relativemovement of thevplate. members 26 and 32. The hooked portion 28 of platemember 26 is then placed around the shank of thezclub, and afterextending the upper plate member 32 in the direction of the toe of theclub (moving slot 40 on stud 30) the depending legs or flanges 36 and 38may be moved downwardly beside their opposing club head surfaces. Theattachment is then gripped by placing a forenger on the toe side offinger grip 34 and the thumb of the same hand on the hooked portion 28,and the'ztinger grip 34 is drawn toward the hooked portion until theflanges 36 and 38 are drawn up snugly against their opposing club headsurfaces. With the desired number of weights 42 on the stud 30, thenut`48 is then .tightened -to iix the plate members rmly together and tosecure the weights rmly in place. In this tightening process, the bowedportion of the upper plate member is compressed resiliently to ensurethat the parts will remain rmly secured despite the stresses exertedduring the swinging of the club and even yafterlong use.

With the device thus in place, the club may be utilized for practiceshots without fear that the attachment of the invention will becomeloosened. The anges 36 and 38 and the hooked portion 28 secure theattachment against both horizontal and vertical movement. In use, theattachment of the invention does not interfere with the normal view ofthe club head, and particularly 'the Striking face 18. Weights areadded, removed, or interchanged by detaching the wing nut 48 from thestud 30 so that .the weights may be simply slipped on proff of the stud.Of course, when the wing nut is loosened and then tightened, -the platemembers must be placed or maintained in their proper positions to ensurea snug tit of the attachment with the club head as before.

To remove the attachment, it is simply necessary t0 loosen the wing nut4S, thereby releasing the upper plate 32 for movement, so that the.plate member may be moved toewardly a sufficient amount to release theflanges 36 and 38. The hooked portion 28 may then be readily releasedfrom the shank 24.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that the device of the presentinvention operates more simply than j the device of the aforesaid priorpatent, while retaining the desirable features of the latter, since onlya single fastening means is employed. Moreover, by virtue of theintegral construction of the hook 28 and the lower plate member 26, theeye appeal of the device is substantially improved. Further enhancementmay be obtained by chrome plating the metal parts.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the `art that changescan be made in this embodiment withoutdeparting from the principles andspirit of the invention, the scope of which is deiined in the appendedclaims. For example, wit-hin the broader aspects of the invention anattachment might be constructed with the depending flanges on the lowerplate L member and the shank hook on the upper. Accordingly,

the foregoing embodiment is to be considered illustrative, rather thanrestrictive of the invention, and those moditlcations which come withinthe meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are included therein.

I claim:

l. An attachment for adding weight to golf cl-ubs, such as driving woods:and the like, comprising a iirst, relatively Ichin plate-like memberconforming generally to l the shape of the top of a golf club, formed toextend over a major portion but less than all of said golf club top andhaving an extending portion shaped to releasably engage the shankportion of a club head, `a second relatively thin plate-like lmemberformed to extend over :a major part but less than all of said golf clubtop and in planes generally parallel to said `first member and having anextremity-shaped to engage releasably the toe portioniof a club head,means coupling said plate members for relative movement I'along thetoe-to-shank axis of a club head, and releasable means for ixing saidplate members together to prevent s-uch movement.

2. The attachment of claim 1, said extremity of said first'plate memberbeing twisted into a club shank embracing hook, land said extremity ofsaid second plate member having a depending club toe engaging flange.

Y. 3. The attachment of claim 1, said second plate member having anupstanding nger grip.

4. The attachment of claim l, said coupling means comprising a studextending upwardly from said first plate vmember and passing through aslot in said second plate'member which extends along said axis.

5. The attachment of claim 4, said fixing means comprising threads onsaid stud and a nut thereon over said second plate member.

6. The attachmentA of claim 5, further comprising at least'one removableweight having a hole therethrough and adapted to` liebetween said secondplate member and` said nut lwith said stud passing through said hole.

7. The attachment of claim 5, said second plate member-being bowed awayfrom the rst around said stud and being 4resiliently compressible bysaid nut toward the rst.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITnDsrATEs PATENTS

